I Love Genealogy
Don't get me wrong. Genealogy is a passion of mine, more like an obsession. There's nothing more fun to me than scrolling through old census records, looking for that one familiar name. Or finding a grave in a cemetery full of thousands.
But my problem is that most of the time I feel that I am stuck in the past, with no regard for the future. They'll be times when I am driving through a busy intersection and think "I wonder what this looked like back in 1830?". Or I'll see something, some new technological gadget and think "wow, what would great great grandpa think of THIS?"
I concentrate more on the dead rather than the living. I spend more time in cemeteries than I do with my own family. For so many years, I lost touch with the last of my dad's siblings, the WWII generation. Instead, I was busy tracking down their great great great grandparents, of which they knew nothing about, or really cared, for that matter. They all died before I had a chance to talk to them.
Oh, I am sure that they couldn't have given me any hard-core info. But they could have given me stories. Sometimes, it's all about the stories. I guess I learned a valuable lesson. Don't ignore the living for the dead, because the dead are not going anywhere.
Well, I have been at this for over 15 years, and still cannot go very far back on my own family tree. Between the Great Chicago Fire, the Irish not keeping good records, and Old German writing that cannot be deciphered, I am basically at a standstill.
So, to keep myself busy, I have adopted everyone else's family to work on. Before I divorced, I traced my ex-husband's family back to 14th century France. I am now working on my boyfriend's family, and so far have gone back to 17th century Wales and England. And I have made it a point for him to keep in touch with his elderly relatives.
I am back at it in full swing, but I now have my feet firmly planted in the present. Although I can't help but wonder what the view would be from my kitchen window if this were 1810 instead of 2010.
But my problem is that most of the time I feel that I am stuck in the past, with no regard for the future. They'll be times when I am driving through a busy intersection and think "I wonder what this looked like back in 1830?". Or I'll see something, some new technological gadget and think "wow, what would great great grandpa think of THIS?"
I concentrate more on the dead rather than the living. I spend more time in cemeteries than I do with my own family. For so many years, I lost touch with the last of my dad's siblings, the WWII generation. Instead, I was busy tracking down their great great great grandparents, of which they knew nothing about, or really cared, for that matter. They all died before I had a chance to talk to them.
Oh, I am sure that they couldn't have given me any hard-core info. But they could have given me stories. Sometimes, it's all about the stories. I guess I learned a valuable lesson. Don't ignore the living for the dead, because the dead are not going anywhere.
Well, I have been at this for over 15 years, and still cannot go very far back on my own family tree. Between the Great Chicago Fire, the Irish not keeping good records, and Old German writing that cannot be deciphered, I am basically at a standstill.
So, to keep myself busy, I have adopted everyone else's family to work on. Before I divorced, I traced my ex-husband's family back to 14th century France. I am now working on my boyfriend's family, and so far have gone back to 17th century Wales and England. And I have made it a point for him to keep in touch with his elderly relatives.
I am back at it in full swing, but I now have my feet firmly planted in the present. Although I can't help but wonder what the view would be from my kitchen window if this were 1810 instead of 2010.
By:
franciem
Age:
51-55
,
Female
